diff --git a/library/system/mount b/library/system/mount
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index a2e0dc84171..9d5cdd8b06b
--- a/library/system/mount
+++ b/library/system/mount
@@ -69,7 +69,14 @@ options:
     required: true
     choices: [ "present", "absent", "mounted", "unmounted" ]
     default: null
-     
+  fstab:
+    description:
+      - file to use instead of C(/etc/fstab). You shouldn't use that option
+        unless you really know what you are doing. This might be useful if
+        you need to configure mountpoints in a chroot environment.
+    required: false
+    default: /etc/fstab
+
 notes: []
 requirements: []
 author: Seth Vidal
@@ -260,6 +267,13 @@ def main():
     if module.params['fstab'] is not None:
         args['fstab'] = module.params['fstab']
 
+    # if fstab file does not exist, we first need to create it. This mainly
+    # happens when fstab optin is passed to the module.
+    if not os.path.exists(args['fstab']):
+        if not os.path.exists(os.path.dirname(args['fstab'])):
+            os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(args['fstab']))
+        open(args['fstab'],'a').close()
+
     # absent == remove from fstab and unmounted
     # unmounted == do not change fstab state, but unmount
     # present == add to fstab, do not change mount state